BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

siktadaspatnaik Beautifully done movie.... every aspect is so wonderfully imagined...

Charles Camp SPOILER: I've seen the term "Ghibli-lite" thrown around quite a bit in the past, but this is the first time it has truly felt appropriate. Studio Ponoc is the new Japanese animation studio that has risen from the ashes of the mighty Studio Ghibli with the goal of creating animated features of the same spirit and quality. It's staffed by many of the same extraordinarily talented animators, and this film - their debut - was helmed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, the director of two recent canon Ghibli films: the solid The Secret World of Arrietty, and the excellent When Marnie Was There. You couldn't hope for a better pedigree, but Mary and the Witch's Flower falls unequivocally short of the mark.It certainly looks the part. It frequently sounds the part. But it just doesn't feel the part. For all its visual grandeur, the film ultimately has a vacuous, shallow quality. It references many phenomenal, classic Ghibli films like Kiki's Delivery Service and Spirited Away, but fails to reach the same level of heart, nuance, and depth. The bathhouse setting in Spirited Away, for instance, absolutely bustles with activity and is populated by characters who feel unique and well-realized no matter how minor their role. By comparison, Endor College feels hollow and lifeless, a backdrop rather than a living, breathing place. This film took about half the time to make as the typical Ghibli film and, sadly, it shows. The characters are thin and the plot feels familiar and routine in an unflattering way,Still, there are some magical moments to be had here and visually the film does consistently impress. The more contemplative scenes which make up much of the first act of the film contain its best sequences. Yonebayashi has shown himself to be a filmmaker that thrives in the languid, slice-of-life style approach and this film doesn't play to his strengths. It was likely a calculated decision to make a more fun, action/adventure-oriented feature a la Castle in the Sky to debut the studio but it just comes off feeling... calculated. It's a decent film, but given the talent involved, decent is quite a letdown. I haven't given up on Ponoc though. Someone needs to carry the Ghibli torch and they are still poised to be the ones to do it. Fingers crossed that it's only up from here.3/5

MrDHWong Mary and The Witch's Flower is the debut anime film from Studio Ponoc and directed by former Studio Ghibli animator Hiromasa Yonebayashi (The Secret World of Arrietty, When Marnie Was There). Based on the novel "The Little Broomstick" by Mary Stewart, it is a nice first offering from the relatively new animation studio and features some truly beautiful animation.On her Great Aunt's estate, young Mary Smith (voiced by Ruby Barnhill) lives a bored existence as she tries to pass the time before her parents join her. One day, while venturing out in the nearby woods, Mary stumbles upon a mysterious blue flower, believed to have been used by witches for their magical powers.Naturally, the film has taken some strong influences from its Ghibli roots, particularly that of Howl's Moving Castle and Kiki's Delivery Service, but also from the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, with its overall magical tone and setting. The story does unfortunately play it safe one too many times, especially during the final act, and this does affect the overall enjoyment at times, whether this is how things are in the original novel I am unsure. Needless to say though, the animation is simply gorgeous and is up there with some of Studio Ghibli's best films. The attention-to-detail on every frame is exquisite and the use of colour makes the film great to look at. The performances of the English dub cast is solid, particularly that of newcomer Ruby Barnhill (Disney's The BFG) as the title character. However, as likeable a protagonist Mary is, her character seemed somewhat generic from a storytelling perspective and most of the supporting cast felt underdeveloped and one-dimensional. I have yet to see the original Japanese dub but I plan to do so in the not-too-distant future.I rate it 7.5/10

stindere I will try to make this as short as I can:To give context, I've watched all of studio Ghibli's movies (because this is what people are comparing this movie to) and enough hours of anime / animated movies and series to have several PhDs... That's probably not a good thing. Moving on...The art is beautiful and the animations are amazing, sometimes reminding me of the old Disney style of animation. The story and music are kind of where this movie falls short. The story is pretty predictable and the music is kind of generic but I still loved watching this.This movie definitely doesn't deserve a grade under 7. If you loved the stuff by studio Ghibli, then you'll love this. It's as simple as that so go watch it.